The Role of Theories in Mental Representations and Their Use in Social Perception: A Theory-Based Approach to Significant-Other Representations and Transference

Social cognition researchers have made substantial progress in elucidating the nature of mental representations and their role in social perception. A diverse array of perspectives on representational content and structure exists (for reviews, see Carlston & E.R.Smith, 1996; E.R.Smith, 1998; Wyer & Carlston, 1994), along with a rich understanding of how and when representations are likely to be activated and brought to bear on the tasks of perceiving and judging the social world (e.g., Higgins, 1996; Wyer & Srull, 1986). Considerable progress has also been made regarding the role of mental representations in guiding social behavior (e.g., Bargh, 1990, 1997). Where do we go from here?